Steelers Big Ben takes steps to regain top form By Scott BrownTRIBUNE-REVIEWSunday, March 4, 2007LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Go ahead and say he stunk in some games last season.Blame him for the Steelers not making the playoffs a year after they rampaged through them.But question his dedication, and that's when Ben Roethlisberger starts firing back.That's when he talks about how he signed a couple of football helmets in exchange for a free gym pass so he could work out last week while he was in Las Vegas.Or how he calls Bruce Arians almost daily with a question even though the new Steelers offensive coordinator has told Roethlisberger the playbook he has been studying is only a first draft.Challenge the youngest quarterback to win a Super Bowl to become an elite quarterback, as first-year Steelers coach Mike Tomlin almost certainly did when the two had dinner recently, but don't raise eyebrows or doubts over his assertion that he is willing to do what it takes to succeed."Other than my family, there's nothing I care more about than what I do," Roethlisberger said. "I want to be the best that's ever played this game, and I know I'm far from it because of the way I've been playing."Roethlisberger had the dubious distinction of throwing more interceptions (23) than any NFL quarterback in 2006. Tomlin brought in a new quarterbacks coach (Ken Anderson) and later said in regard to Roethlisberger, "He's got to roll up his sleeves and come to work every day and be willing to do the drudgery that's required to be great, and I know he'll be capable of doing that."Connect the dots, starting with Roethlisberger's regression, and it's not hard to see why a perception has emerged that the Steelers' franchise quarterback needs to be nudged, if not pushed, toward greatness.He appeared to be on a path toward that before a well-documented detour nearly cost him his career and even his life.The motorcycle accident that happened last June and the impact it had on Roethlisberger's third NFL season recently became a hot topic of discussion.Former Steelers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt said at the NFL Scouting Combine that the trauma Roethlisberger experienced from the accident, which required him to have major facial surgery, may have affected him on the field.He experienced more trauma right before the season when he had an emergency appendectomy. He also was knocked out of an Oct. 22 game with a concussion.Asked about the cumulative effect of everything that happened to him, Roethlisberger said, "It's hard for even me to say. I never really felt like I was afraid to really get hit; maybe after the appendectomy a little bit because my stomach hurt, I didn't want to get hit in the stomach. But I don't feel like I was ever timid or too afraid to be out there playing."Roethlisberger said he is sure he couldn't have done anything more to overcome all of the medical travails he experienced last season. He spent so much time in the weight room following the appendectomy and concussion that his backup, Charlie Batch, said to him at one point, "Ben, are you going to burn yourself out? You're lifting too much."The approach he took to get back in 2006 is the same one he is taking to getting back on track.Instead of taking several months off after the season as he had done in the past, Roethlisberger said he started his offseason workouts in the second week of January.While he hasn't been throwing so he can rest his arm, Roethlisberger said he has been lifting weights, doing extensive cardiovascular work and pool exercises and studying the playbook that Arians has been putting together.The key to Roethlisberger having a big -- and redeeming -- season in 2007 may lie in him taking a more relaxed approach."Since winning the Super Bowl, he's put more pressure on himself," Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward said.Ward's advice to his quarterback: Don't put everything on your shoulders, broad as they may be."Sometimes put the pressure on me to make a play for you," Ward said. "Throw it and let me be the guy that makes the catch, chew out your offensive line if they don't block someone right. Don't feel like you have to go out and single-handedly win the game."During a break from "ESPN The Weekend" at Walt Disney World's MGM Studios last Friday, Roethlisberger conceded he has to reconcile his quest for greatness with not running too hard after it."At times (in 2006), I did feel like I was trying to be too good, trying to be perfect, if you will, instead of just being me," Roethlisberger said.While usually as guarded with his comments as he was at Disney (Roethlisberger was accompanied by bodyguards to various activities), he spoke freely on his 25th birthday about a number of things, including how the adversity he experienced over the last year has changed him."I laugh a lot more, I'm more relaxed, smiling," Roethlisberger said. "I can still get upset at times, but I think I'm a calmer person."That new perspective has not doused his desire, Roethlisberger said, which is why he takes criticism over his work ethic so personally.And those who question how serious he is about leading the team that is sacred to Western Pennsylvania and beyond?"They're crazy," Roethlisberger said.